Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Granola Bars: they can be naughty too

So after a week of cheesecake it's time for something a little less unhealthy but just as tasty. I've been playing around with ideas for protein/granola bars. The problem being I get so sick of peanuts and eventually everyone reaches a limit to how many almonds they can eat. So no peanuts, no almonds but then there's a jar of cashew butter in my fridge that's been calling out for a use and honestly the nutty, creamy flavour could be just what is needed.

Over Christmas we have some amazing cookies with cranberry and white chocolate, it's a fairly classic combination but it just works so well. Obviously white chocolate is not the healthiest food in the world, in fact it's the worst of the chocolates but sometimes a little bit healthy can be combined with a little bit naughty. Look at how deliciously healthy and simplistic the rest of the ingredients are.

The flour here is oat flour. This stuff is so easy to make, take organic rolled oats and blitz them in a blender or food processor until it's a flour consistency. If you use brown rice crispies, these bars are gluten free too. The blended oats make the texture much smoother but the rice crispies give it a nice bite. To this delicious combination all you need is cashew butter and honey with hot water and vanilla extract mixed in. Stir everything to combine thoroughly.

The best part about these bars is the fact that you can eat as much of the mixture as you like, and trust me it's delicious. The bars don't need to be cooked, so technically you could eat them like this and be happy but portion control might become a bigger issue.

To form the bars, just line a lunch box or any rectangular container with cling-film , pour in the mixture and press down as much as possible. Then refrigerate for a least and hour.

Worst photo ever? 80s cook books would be proud ;)

Slice up your bars to about 1 inch wide and melt your white chocolate in a double boiler, or with a drop of milk in the microwave for two sets of 20 seconds, stirring well in between and after. Then drizzle the chocolate over the slices until you are tempted to eat them all now ;)

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About Me

I'm an aspiring psychologist with a love for baking. I watch a lot of food network shows, but normal television shows also.
When I'm not working, studying or baking, or socializing, I'm in the gym or working out at home to zuzkalight. (Well,I have to do something to make up for all these cookies.) However even in the gym I have been known to be reading Good Food Magazine or watching Rachel Ray making something delicious. Simply put, food especially dessert is my favourite past time. And that's me in a nutshell!
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